hypomeneo | Open Post

Ye ol' general open post. Memes, PSLs, game divergence, Fate AUs... all of it finds a home here. NSFW. PM me or hit me at

Kerimeos for more plotting.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It’s amazing to hear him laugh so carefree again. It's unlikely there exists a limit to silliness Iskandar is capable of just too chase away the ever-present worry that’s his husband's default mood. But all that sinks into background as soon as he gets them both comfortably wrapped in the warm blankets. There he can finally do away with the towel and get to the pleasant part: brushing Waver’s hair. He doesn’t even need his love to stay awake for this.
Iskandar is a lot calmer now that bracelet has been located but he doesn't feel the need to put it on Waver's wrist just yet. His hair could get caught into it if he wasn't careful. So until Waver is asleep, this can wait.
It should count as no small a sacrifice that Iskandar resisted packing the whole arsenal of hairbrushes that he collected over time for Waver's hair, letting Waver decide which one he prefers to take. He caught himself idly musing over which one to choose before remembering they left them all back at home. None of it dampens his pleasure from the process but it does amuse him he could be such a hedonist in small matters. If only he has time to spare...and time was scarce lately.]

We should go on vacation more often.

[Iskandar chuckles.]

Oh, really? Maybe you should try for yourself then? I don’t think you can get hypothermia from a short dip even if the water is freezing.

[Iskandar is not exactly convinced his theory makes much sense. He's just teasing. That it does make sense to him now proves absolutely nothing. He is not very much awake so a lot of things make sense that otherwise wouldn't. Actually, he didn't even think about swimming in the lake before. That's definitely something to check tomorrow. He's not cruel though. He won't try drag Waver with him. It doesn't mean he can't tease him about it.]

[There is a noise. Awful. That's just being awful. Waver pulls a face as he leans back against his husband.]

I'm sure you'd be surprised. [TRUST HIM. With his luck, he'll manage it!] Weren't you just saying I should be careful? [Looking to the heavens. There may be a bit of rolling eyes.] Be warned, I make a terrible patient. This has been wonderful so far. Let's avoid such a fate.

[Waver handles being sick as he does waking up. He grumps, he whimpers, he makes a whole production if not allowed to snore away in bed and crawl out occasionally for tea and toast.]

But you're right. We need to do this more often.

[... squinting back suddenly.]

Aa... I hear those wheels turning. Ideas already?

[He shifts slightly, comfortable and content, as he feels the brush bristles slide through his messy hair, beginning the ritual that turns it into a waterfall of fine silk. It's his favorite - wood with boar hair, simple and effective. He likes how his hair shines after using it. Iskandar, though, lingers over the choice of a brush just like a painter would linger over the choice of theirs. Sometimes he uses a particular brush because it suits the task of dealing with how unruly Waver's hair has decided to be on any given day. Sometimes he just chooses it because it suits his mood and calls to him.

There are odder things to collect. Though Waver feels some would disagree.]

[Ugh is a state of mind. They both know that. So Iskandar just laughs at the horrible, horrible noise he gets in response to his suggestion. He can't say he did not expect it. While his hands are occupied with brushing he still can lean down to kiss Waver squarely on the of his, still slightly damp head. ]

As you had so astutely pointed out, that is exactly what I said. So I shall heed my own advice then. No throwing you into frozen lakes or any criminal activity of a similar sort.

[He grins. Him saying something outrageously ridiculous and Waver making faces at him for doing so is a part of the time-honoured tradition. It feels wonderful just to be able to be silly around each other. To have time and energy for it.]

I was thinking...

[So he often does, doesn't he? Iskandar breathes out.]

I get that we are needed in Japan mostly. That's were out Temples are and people who call upon us to aid them.

[He pauses. Or anywhere else where there is enough of a Japanese population to set up shrines. It still surprises him that those are the people that would pray to him. Not his fellow Hellenes. Or maybe they do... but he simply doesn't know that.]

I mean, I like Tokyo. It's a fascinating city. It's unlikely it could ever stop being fascinating to me. But here, here is good too. This whole experience of just going somewhere else. Seeing other places, meeting people different than those that live there.

[He already feels good here. It's difficult to judge if it's because he has some sudden love for the place or is it simply the change of scenery that he longed for. Even if he was too busy to realise exactly what he was lacking. His insatiable wanderlust does not go away simply because he settled now as a god in one particular pantheon. It's too much part of him.]

[If it weren't so freezing cold, Waver would be wary of some mischief along those lines anyway. Maybe not a chucking in a lake, but a spraying with a hose or something else spur of the moment and completely whimsically silly and harmless.

So Iskandar gets a satisfied grumping sound that is teasing more than anything else and some raised brows. Good. Good. No turning into an ice cube for him.

His mood turns more thoughtful as the conversation goes on and exhaustion weighs heavier on him. A pleasant tiredness; heavy and warm as his husband continues to brush out his hair and he hums.]

You've never done well stuck in one place too long. [Waver rests his hand upon Iskandar's thigh. It probably says something of himself that he's also chosen to wander in his life, though he can tolerate staying in one place. Mages tend to be shut ins. But Iskandar... it's in his blood. Keeping him in one place too long would be like chaining up the wind. Not a thing that should be done and one ultimately impossible.] Regardless of responsibilities, that is a truth. Just keeping about Japan wouldn't be good for you. You need to roam and explore as well.

[Waver finds their followers strange as well - and not just the geiko in his case. He knows Zhuge Liang is worshiped in China. He has temples in places like Chengdu. Temples that supposedly should be in Waver's care. And yet... he hears the prayers of the Japanese? It bothers him. He's said as much to Iskandar.]

It's one of the reasons why I choose here for our vacation. Besides wanting to show you the Northern Lights.

[Iskandar smiles.]

That is indeed true, the longest I stayed in one place was two years in Egypt.

[But he loved the land and its people. That is more that he can say about Japan. He could have easily stayed there longer if not for the war. Or maybe it's that he thinks so now? It is as possible that had he stayed, he'd have grown weary even of shimmering sands and green palms of Kemet. ]

You know me so well, beloved.

[He has been blessed with people who loved him and cared enough to truly get to know him many times in his life. More than his fair share, one might even say. It is no different now with Waver. He still considers it a miracle. Their time together, the fact that they met at all and then met again. It was destiny that drawn them together each time. Oh, there were bad times, all the difficulties they had to overcome. The horror of Waver not remembering him, not being able to for his own safety. The joy when he finally did and finally could. Nothing is ever perfect and none can expect they'll go through life without hardships but he suddenly feels he's been awfully ungrateful. This is a good life. ]

Maybe I am too harsh on this country. [He admits pausing to think about all the places in Japan they did visit and finds the list surprisingly short.] I haven't seen so much of it yet. We've been where? Tokyo, Kyoto... the surrounding areas...

[Still, he likes it here. Maybe not the snow but the land is beautiful and people are kind. That's enough.]

I'm glad you brought us here though.

[A small smile. Know him well, yes. And yet he learns more everyday...]

Just that. We haven't been outside it. Hard to believe...

[It's a very short list. Waver scrunches his nose when he thinks about it. Even he (though not by his own will) roamed farther in the United Kingdom during his years as Lord.

There's time to expand it though. Japan took so much from him, and now in this life he's been given the most important thing back in that same land, abet in the Heavens. Despite the horror both of them went through to get to this place of happiness. Despite the rotten systems they're still chained to... they've been now blessed and Waver can't stop being grateful for every moment.]

We'll fix that.

[His eyelids sink downwards as his breathing starts to even out.]

You know. This is one of the nicest places on the continent I've been. Not that... [Yawn. His travels took him through India, the Middle East, and up to Greece, but..] I've been much of anywhere in Europe, but... this is nice. I like it too. Even though it's beyond bloody cold.

[Iskandar chuckles. He's no stranger to winters but it doesn't mean he likes them. Greece is warm, Egypt can be blazingly hot, so can India and Bactria and Babylon. Most places his conquest has taken him to were a lot warmer. While he does enjoy the change their visit here is for him, in the long run, his preference lies with the warm.]

Yes, the cold is a bit of hindrance. I don't think I could live in a place that freezes your blood solid.

[Iskandar yawns openly. He blinks and shakes his head trying to chase away sleep at least for a while. Time to put the brush down before he falls asleep right here where he sits. He's way too comfortable to stay awake for long now.]

Good thing then we don't have to go outside before breakfast tomorrow.

... there better be some coffee to make in this cabin to warm us up...

[Waver's head falls. He slowly raises it, slow blinking, before it falls again and his weight settles even more firmly against Iskandar as he falls into sleep sitting up. He slurs:]

Not like it's far... to... but...

[And it tapers off to a snore as he goes limp in Iskandar's arms. The bracelet sits on the nightstand forgotten, leaving its owner open to the mercies of dreams.

Or nightmares.]

[ Iskandar didn't plan to fall asleep.]

I think I saw a small coffee-machine somewhere he...re. The kind you usually...

[see in the airports is what he wanted to say but doesn't get the chance to finish. He's still sitting, back to the headboard, one arm wrapped around Waver's waist, hairbrush in hand when his eyes close and he drifts off to sleep. The sound of hairbrush hitting the floor is not enough to wake either of them. After all the excitement of the day has faded away the jetlag finally caught up with both of them.

Here, so far in the North, where darkness reigns supreme for half of the year. Where the land is soaked in the strange glow of the Northern Light. Here the dreams are strange and some of them are not for the mortals. Some are dreams that only two gods that come from distant land far away from this frozen landscape can have.

Dreams of snow and ice and blood. The scent of iron in the crisp, icy air and the sounds... Sounds of bones rattling in the wind, sounds of ice breaking, sounds of footsteps in the snow. There's one sound Iskandar hasn't heard in a long time. As stone grates against stone, he recognizes it. He would recognize it anywhere. An ancient sound, a sound that doesn't fit with the modern world they inhabit now. A sound of grinding of the grain...

The night is dark but the sky is aflame with eerie colours. They reflect in the snow so white it almost seems blue. There's a woman sitting in the snow turning the handle on the smaller stone that neatly fits in a bigger one. Her hair is dark and braided but her face is hidden in the shadow. She's dressed in reindeer skins and furs. On her side a pair of fur mittens dark with blood. She mills and sings.

Iskandar can't shake the impression it is not grain that she is grinding.]

Kiputyttö, Tuonen neiti,
joka istut kipukivellä
joen kolmen juoksevassa,
veen kolmen jaka'imessa
jauhaen kipukiveä, Kipuvuorta väännätellen!
Käy kivut kereämähän kitahan kiven sinisen,
tahi vieretä vetehen,
syytäise meren syvähän,
tuulen tuntumattomahan,
päivän paistamattomahan!

[ooc: source: Kallevala translation and reference]

[Waver dreams of the meeting of three frozen rivers at a hill... or is it a mountain? There is a large, black pot bubbling over a fire untended, but its owner is nowhere in sight. There should be an owner.

There's a rattling sound in the air as singing rises with the wind. Waver's vision whites out as snow blows around him, and ice crunches as something walks past him. It's just a shape in the white out - vaguely human.

"Kiputyttö, Tuonen neiti,
joka istut kipukivellä
joen kolmen juoksevassa,
veen kolmen jaka'imessa
jauhaen kipukiveä, Kipuvuorta väännätellen!"

His lungs burn from the cold. Something metallic fills his nose. The scent is like copper or iron, sharp and lingering. He recognizes it. Blood. Fresh spilled blood.

"Käy kivut kereämähän kitahan kiven sinisen,
tahi vieretä vetehen,
syytäise meren syvähän,
tuulen tuntumattomahan,
päivän paistamattomahan!"

And suddenly the wind dies and the flurry of snowflakes cease. The air clears, until all that's left is the fog of his breath misting from his lips. The lights in the sky dance overhead, terrible and stark in their beauty. The snow glowing underneath them is pristine.

Yet the rattle of bones continues to whisper in the wind and the stench of blood thickens until the stench coats the back of Waver's throat. There's a new sound too. A rasp, a grind, a little like the scrape of a stone pestle against a mortar. But slightly different. Waver's modern ears can't place it until he sees the sitting woman grinding something between stone as she sings, ignoring the man watching her.

Does he want to know what's being milled? No, instinct tells him, this is not a place he wants to be and the answer is not one he'll like. The bloodstained mittens alone set him on edge.

... he's heard her name before... yes...

... it's falling from her shadowed lips, if indeed she is singing about herself...

Kiputyttö.

The pain goddess.

Outside the realm of dreams, Waver shivers in Iskandar's arms. Unaware for now this vision is a dream at all..]

Edited Date: 2020-09-18 01:45 pm (UTC)

[Iskandar has never lost his belief in omens. He never saw reason to. His current position clearly supporting that course of action. Usually, he had people qualified to discern the meaning out of such omens at his disposal. Yet he knows no oracle. Not here, not even back in Japan. He's also not used to prophetic dreams. So the current one puts him in a rather uncomfortable position...or it will, the moment he realizes this is a dream.

He doesn't know that yet.

For now, he's wondering how exactly did he get here. The frozen expanse looks oddly familiar and yet he cannot place it anywhere. Something about it feels known. As if he has been here already. He just can't recognize this place. What he is fully certain of is that he does not know this woman nor does he understand the language she's using. A second time a feeling of familiarity strikes him. He has heard it somewhere before... but where? and when? He cannot say.]

Forgive me the interruption but...

[The woman stops milling and looks up. All her face save for the thin line of black lips is covered in shadow. She raises her arm pointing to the side. Not even looking in that direction but Iskandar knows with the surety one can only have in dreams she wants him to look. So he does. And it freezes him on the spot.

A wide, red trail, blood frozen into fresh snow, leads away from where he is standing. A long one, thirty steps at least. It's so vivid, it's surreal. As if someone squeezed raspberry juice onto the snow. And yet it is not the blood that horrifies him most. It's the figure at the end of the trail. Barely a silhouette, unstable, dissolving on the edges, wrapped in a chaotic, ever-shifting dark fog. It's image dancing, one moment clearly visible, the other losing details, its shape becoming uncertain, ambiguous. As if the reality itself was trying to erase it.
It stands over a perfectly round hole in the ice, its bloodied hands shaking. Red against black of the shadows. Red against white of the snow.

Now he recognizes the place. It dawns on him with mounting horror he knows why it seemed so familiar. And that they left all of their shinki at home...]

[He's seen this place before.

It's an odd thought, ghosting in and out of his consciousness. The wind cuts into his clothes (he's wearing clothes? Wasn't he in bed naked?) as his lips part to ask a question. He's been here. Or at least walked by here. The lights in the sky and the atmosphere paint it unreal, but he swears...

What's moving?

There's something moving.

Like before.

In the white.

Waver swallows, throat suddenly dry, as his eye moves to its corner. How did he not notice the crimson trail sweeping past him in an unsteady line before? His toe digs in the snow to reveal ice underneath. A thick layer above a river. Darkness swirls in the waters below.

A river. He and his husband walked beside the frozen river and watched - the splashes and smears lead right to it - watched the workers of the resort cut a perfectly round hole in the ice for the users of the smoke saunas along the river to bathe afterwards.

At the end of the trail, at the hole, it waits with bloody hands. Bloody hands... bloody mittens... the only thing that is distinct about it. The rest...]

Were you trying to bury it, my lady?

[The question rasps out of him. Kiputyttö. The goddess who not only creates pain, but buries it in the places no light can ever reach. Darkness.. pain... suffering... sin...

Where is Iskandar?

Where is he?

... they're alone. All their shinki are in the Heavens of a land half a world away. Just so they could have some time to themselves.

That decision, Waver realizes with a sinking heart... was a... grave... mistake...]

This is ayakashi isn't it?

[The woman, a goddess, Iskandar has no doubts about it now, smiles...or rather the thin line that her lips form stretches. It catches him off guard how young she sounds when she finally speaks.]

If this is what you call them. A malevolent spirit. Then yes. But you don't belong here warrior god. We'll meet again soon. Now shoo, wake up!

[Not until that point did he realize he was dreaming. It hadn't occurred to him even once that whole this situation is rather strange. And yet, there's no longer a chance to ask further questions as the woman clasps her hands and in an instant, everything goes black.

Iskandar realizes that it's not simply black. It's just dark, dark like in a room with curtains drawn in the very early morning, and he sits on the bed in the bedroom of their rented cabin. He must have fallen asleep like that. He looks down and smiles seeing Waver still asleep but the smile fades the moment he notices Waver's bracelet on the nightstand and not on his wrist.
He groans. Stupid. How could he have been so stupid?! He should have made him put it on the moment they left the shower, not wait like a complete idiot. Ugh! He'd better do it now.

Waver, deep in his own dream, is not aware of his husband's anguish. Nor that his visit to the realm of a local goddess might be cut short any minute now. His attention, quite understandably, on the said goddess as she does answer his question. In a way. She doesn't look up but her voice sounds surprisingly young.]

Yeah. Kind of. Or what I intended to do before two foreign gods waltzed into my territory uninvited, unannounced and unarmed. Practically walking spirit bait. Seriously, I don't get it. You're a mage, what the hell were you thinking?

[No ancient goddess speaks like that. Cranky, modern teenagers on the other hand quite often do.]

Sit. We might not have much time. Do you even know where you are? And no, I'm not asking about the name of the country so spare me that.

Your-? [oops?] ... my husband and I were unaware this was your domain. I apologize for the trespass.

[Confusion abates along with panic as Waver lowers himself carefully into the snow beside her. A dream, and now he's woken to it. But this is also as real as the waking world, as some dreams tend to be, accessing other planes of existence.

Instead his stomach turns with dread and no small amount of misplaced but still present petty irritation that flares up and disappears like a flash of flame in the pan. Their vacation! Simply not the time to be annoyed about that, Waver reminds himself. His face is contrite, however; the goddess raises valid points. And now that they're here, they have the responsibility of helping to deal with the obviously ayakashi like spirit threating the land. That is their duty as gods and guests. Unknowing trespass or not, foreign lands or not.

What that duty as gods might require, Waver pointedly doesn't think about right now. They need shinki to fight; the ones they have are half a world away.]

A dream, my Lady. And the underworld if I might wager a guess, though the landscape resembles Kakslauttanen resort. Is this Kipumäki?

[In the waking world, his husband is fiddling with the clasp of his bracelet. A tiny thing, not the easiest for larger fingers. They have just moments until he succeeds in fastening it and Waver awakes with a gasp and a flail of limbs.

Just moments.

But moments in the dream world can stretch on sometimes.]

Edited Date: 2020-09-26 01:29 pm (UTC)

[Time flows differently in the waking and dreaming world. What takes minutes in the waking world can stretch to hours in the dream. It would be difficult to say how much time they really have to talk.]

Lady?

[The goddess refrains from outright laughing. Not her style definitely but Waver does get a very crooked smile. She has stopped her grinding the moment she started talking so when she ceases that the silence rings with only the wind howling.]

I doubt anyone ever called me that. But that's beside the point. So no, this is not Kipumäki. First, you're way too alive for being anywhere even near Tuonela. This is just Dreamland's version of Kakslauttanen. Don't the places in your country have one's of their own?

[The question at the ends sounds sincere. As if she is truly curious. Curious in a way that only people who's never been abroad can be. It is a question to ponder, how many of the gods travel? At least to place that don't have their followers and shrines already. ]

Edited Date: 2020-09-27 09:16 pm (UTC)

[Well. My lady. Simply calling a person just 'Lady' is reserved for one particular girl who grew to be an amazing woman.

He misses her. But is content she's not here.

The 'alive' part gets a crooked smile of his own.]

Not that I've yet encountered. There are the Heavens and the Near Shore; anything else hasn't been stumbled upon by the ones I know. That said, where my husband and I are currently worshipped isn't native to either of us. Our pantheons are elsewhere.

[He can just sense the questions starting to bubble.]

It's a complicated story.

Edited Date: 2020-09-28 09:03 am (UTC)

Oh, I know you died... [The goddess tilts her head slightly, her face still obscured by the hood and the shadow but surprise is obvious in the tone of her voice.] at least once... huh? that's interesting... [She shakes her head.]

Whatever. Either way, deified humans - or whatever you two actually are - do not count as dead people in these parts.

[The questions are there but with Waver's quick assertion in the way, they don't get asked. At least, not now. The goddess just sighs.]

Oh well, must be awfully nice to travel.

[At least once. It depends how you define death - both literal and metaphorical.

With the anniversary of his death fast approaching, he finds he's at peace with it for the most part even if he doesn't know if the Master got away in the end. It was a gamble made of faith and trust, like so many others made by other Servants.

That said, not counting as dead here is relieving.]

It is. I hope you get to enjoy it in the future.

[That's sincere.]

And that's good to know. [His eyes slide to the ayakashi looking spirit. They can be corrupted spirits of the dead or simply a collection of pure negativity.] Our 'friend' over there on the other hand...

Yeah, that one. That might be something you two can help me with.

You see, I can sense the pain he's in and the pain he caused or is going to cause. That he either already killed or is going to kill. Time is kinda vague here. Nothing out of ordinary. It's dreamland, thing work like that here.
But this ... corruption? This is strange. This is my domain. I should be able to see who he is. I should be able to see his face at least. I want to know how he is able to hide from me.

[The goddess looks up, straight at him and finally Waver can see her face. She looks like she sounds. Young, pale face with black lipstick and black eyeshadows, she can't be older than twenty. Or has been when she became a goddess.]

You are a mage. Let's say you help me with finding out who this guy is and how he's able to mask himself here where he shouldn't and I will forget you and your husband are trespassing on my land. I think that's fair.

[She casts a quick glance behind her as the snow starts to fall and the scenery around starts to get more and more blurry.]

And that's a sign it's time for you. See you in the waking world, eastern mage. Next time we meet in person you'd better introduce yourself. You already know how people call me.

[Meanwhile, Iskandar finally succeeds in wrangling the stubborn bracelet into submission and manages to secure it around Waver's wrist. It did not help it's so tiny. He feels awful. He promised Waver he'll make sure he has it on before they both fall asleep and failed. It's all his fault that Waver had nightmares now.]

I'm so sorry, my love.

Edited (no life without edits ;)) Date: 2020-10-08 01:50 pm (UTC)

My apologies, I am---

[The scenery blurs out before he can get in another word and Waver wakes, gasping and flailing, and barely registering that Iskandar is speaking to him.

Sorry... but what? What is he...

Waver's not recalling the bracelet, and there's a confused groan as he sags back into his husband's arms, clearly disoriented.]

Why are you...? I'm alright... I...

[The next groan is more pained as the Caster feels a headache coming on, and clutches his head. Oh hell... that damn dream that wasn't really a dream at all.

They've really stepped in it, haven't they?]

Fuck.

You're sure? You were shaking.

[Iskandar might have had a weird dream himself but his wasn't a nightmare. An omen? Maybe. He'll think about what that might have meant later. Right he has more important things on his mind.

Like how in the name of all the Gods could he let this happen?! Please, don't be mad at him. He's already plenty ashamed of himself.]

I was sure you... that it's the nightmares again. I've ... fallen asleep when you still didn't have your bracelet on. I know I promised, I just —

[Iskandar stops mid-sentence and just blinks, fully confused now. Not nightmares then? What else did he miss?]

Huh?

Yeah.

[He's sure.]

Not nightmares. More like... dream walking. Or a vision.

[It's murmured as Waver's hand slides down off his face. He remains dead weight in Iskandar's arms for a few moments more - still coming to himself and groggy. Uuuuugh. He hates waking up like this.]

One of the local goddesses wanted to talk. It's probably for the best we forgot to put it on. [It's fine. No, it's fine. He's only going to have a headache. That'll go away once he drinks something.] No strange dreams for you?

[Um... a goddess? Eh, so he can't ignore his own dream now. Such a shame. Can't they have some true vacation for once, huh?]

What did she want?

[Iskandar bends over to kiss his husband's forehead. He knows what that groan means, and hopes there's really a good coffee machine somewhere in this hut. Because very soon they will need some truly strong brew to battle that headache.]

A brief one but in light of your dream, mine might mean something too. I didn't realise it was a dream at first because I was just near that sauna we saw today. Then there was a strange lady with a grinding stone, some bloody mittens and some ayakashi she was worried about. All very symbolic, and short. She basically told me to go away and that was it.

[He was a bit concerned. They haven't taken any of their shinki with them for the trip. Mostly because it wouldn't really feel like holidays to him if they did. Still, not overly concerned because, in the end, it's not his territory, not his ayakashi, not his problem.

Yet from Waver's expression, Iskandar can guess he was wrong in his optimistic assumption. The goddess might have no wish to talk to him but she definitely spoke with Waver. That could only mean his own attitude of not his problem might end as simply wishful thinking.

All he wanted was some time alone with his husband....with no outside interference, prayers, demands or anything else.]

That was her. Her name is Kiputyttö. One of the daughters of Tuoni and Tuonetar, the rulers of the underworld in Finnish mythology. She presides over pain and illness.

[No. Apparently not. Something Waver finds himself peeved at. The headache doesn't help. His expression softens at the kiss, though.

... a memory floats up about something about a coffee machine like the one at the airport being in the cabin. Is that right? Waver's not sure. It's all fuzzy. Maybe Iskandar was telling him about it. That would be convenient if that's true.]

She was trying to bury the creature like she would pain. It wasn't quite working. Something is interfering with her ability to perceive him and his identity past that it's a him. All she's aware of that he's in pain, he's about to or just has killed, and he's in our general area. I saw him at the sauna too.

Which has left her displeased. [Waver sighs.] Our presence isn't making her happy either. We're invading her territory, apparently, and she's concerned we came in unarmed. [But how could they know? Frustrating... so very frustrating...] She's willing to let things slide as long as we help her with the ayakashi, however. Figuring out how the thing is able to hide, who or what he really is...

[It's their problem if the ayakashi decides to try and ambush them for a meal, no matter what their choices are in regards to dealing with it. No shinki are a problem that way. A cranky goddess who might rope in other members of her pantheon if she doesn't get her way might be a headache too.

One on top of this building... UGH.]

What a present, huh? [Waver's lips curve with no small amount of exasperation.] Merry Christmas.

I hate politics.

[It's Iskandar's turn to groan. So assuming they can be private persons on their own vacation and not foreign gods abroad was too much of wishful thinking on his part, eh? Eh...too good to be true. Something had to happen to spoil it.]

Displeased, huh? Maybe she should have done a proper introduction when we arrived? Instead of dragging you into her dreamworld or whatever it was and kicking me out with no explanation.

[He's not even against helping. Only pissed it ruins their vacation. And then there's the ayakashi problem. Iskandar doesn't think that dragging that thing on the local goddess head is beneath him. They won't be able to dispatch it themselves anyway.]

I'd be most happy if we kept as far from this mess as possible but I guess that's not happening. If we're supposed to investigate it, I have a hard time imagining how we can do this while staying at a safe distance.

[Iskandar shakes his head. Oh well, they will deal with it. As they dealt with every moronic thing the Older Gods has thrown at them back in Japan. They will figure something out. Waver will. He always does.
Iskandar leans down to kiss his husband.]

Nah, this is my present. Merry Christmas, my light.

[Coffee, breakfast, and then they can start planning what to do next.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I've got dirty laundry on them all

Open Post